Amazon tablet vs. RIM PlayBook

You may wonder why we would want to compare the Amazon tablet against the RIM PlayBook considering one comes with Android and the other runs on BlackBerry Tablet OS? Well believe it or not, the two have more in common than you may think, as the former is based on the latter. Most of you will not care either way; all you will want to know is how well the thing performs.

We reported this morning that the new Amazon tablet will be called the Kindle Fire, which we will find out for sure tomorrow. Latest rumors suggest that it is not a new device, but a revamped version of RIM’s tablet. For those who find it hard to understand why the online retail giant has chosen this design, the simple answer is that Quanta who builds the PlayBook also builds the Fire.

ZDNet does explain that there will be a few differences between the two; well the Kindle Fire needs to be, as it is expected to sell for around $250. We cannot be certain what these changes will be and if Amazon will be making a loss at first, just so they can get their feet wet in the tablet market. However, we do expect it to come with just basic specs, such as a slower CPU and not even a camera – so will be more like a first-generation iPad.

You might wonder why Amazon would want to copy the PlayBook design, especially as it has not done that well in terms of sales. Amazon is not stupid, and knows that they have a much better ecosystem when compared to BlackBerry. This is the same case for the original iPad, it did not have the best hardware compared to later rivals, but what it did have was the App Store.

The OS of choice will be Android, but Amazon will offer a custom UI to make certain that it works with their other services. This could end up being one of the most popular Android tablets because of it. The likes of Motorola, RIM and Samsung needed to make a profit from their tablets, but Amazon do not have to worry so much, as they can make their money on the content that they can offer to their customers.